La chiesa di Richard Meier a Tor Tre Teste e il suo contributo al consolidamento identitario dei nuovi quartieri della periferia romana oltre il GRA

Abstract

The article analyses some significant parts of the urban tissue at the eastern periphery of Rome, using the interpretative methods inherent to history, society, urban programming and construction. The most important aspects of the eastern quadrant of the Roman periphery are described “from the inside”, accentuating the passages, spaces and elements of composition standing in the origin of form and structure of the neighborhoods in the vicinity of Grande Raccordo Anulare (GRA). The article proposes that the key episodes in this process are the new churches by internationally famous architects, created as new focal points for peripheral neighborhoods whilst replacing libraries, squares and malls. Recent realizations are seen as intention to enforce, or, better, to construct, an identity factor for each of the neighborhoods in the discussed sector of the city. Starting from the general discourse, the article focuses on one church and one neighborhood that might be considered as models to follow in the entire periphery around GRA: the jubilee church of God the Father of Mercy designed by Richard Meier in the neighborhood of Tor Tre Teste. The sequence of events related to the architectural competition for the church, the choice of proposal by Richard Meier, the complexity of construction as well as the technical, stylistic and symbolical analysis of the building are put in relation to the neighborhood, and finally read as an attempt to create centre of attention for the entire periphery.